The National Film Board was rocked this week by the sudden exit of two of its most powerful figures.

In two terse memos sent to NFB employees on Wednesday afternoon, interim film commissioner Claude Joli-Coeur announced the departure of Ravida Din, director general of its English program, and former NFB chair Tom Perlmutter.

He also informed staff that Michelle Van Beusekom has been named interim director general of the English program, replacing Din.

The NFB, run by the federal government, had already been shaken by the steady exit of many members of its senior management team.

In December, Perlmutter shocked board veterans with the announcement that he was stepping down as government film commissioner and NFB chair rather than staying until the end of his second term in 2017.

At the time, the NFB said Perlmutter would stay on as a strategic adviser. But less than two months later, he is gone.

The NFB is offering no further details.

The news comes just days before the Academy Awards, marked by the conspicuous absence of any nominations for the NFB, which has won 10 Oscars over the years and been shortlisted for dozens more.

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